This April 2010 edition is the most up-to-date guide to Ecuador available anywhere. Ecuador has everything travelers comes for in South America: beaches, mountains, cloud forests, meandering jungle rivers and charming colonial cities. It also has something you won't find anywhere else: the otherworldly Galapagos Islands. VIVA's Quito-based team will point you in all the right directions. With this guidebook, you can: navigate the magnificent Galapagos Islands by land, air and sea; trek through the alpine valleys and misty cloud forests of the Andes; hang your hammock at wild, hidden beaches or in steamy jungle villages; and, party like a local during the Fiestas de Quito, Guaranda's Carnaval or any Saturday night in Atacames. Why settle for an outdated guidebook? The VIVA community of on-the-ground travel writers, local experts and travelers like you are continuously updating and improving this guide at vivatravelguides.com. Join them, and together we'll make the best guidebook to Ecuador even better.